Archive for July, 2009

Harmony, coordination and style…. there are the principles I always follow every morning when I have to get ready for work and I still have not made up my mind about what to wear for the day.
Mood too plays a very important role! But once I am completely awake, after my morning shower, and I finally understand if I feel more like wearing casual, classic, femme fatale or grunge clothes, the key elements I stick to are HARMONY, COORDINATION AND STYLE.

The process is nice and sometimes a bit frustrating because you know what you would like to wear, you have a clear picture in your mind but unfortunately the desired garment is not in your closet or drawer and you think “oh, that would have been perfect. I will have to find it and buy it as soon as possible!”

…and it was exactly in one of these moments that I thought to have a periodic selection of items that suit the knitwear I design and create with my precious needles.

Ok I do not have excuses any more…it is over a week I am back home after my fantastic trip to the States and I have not dedicated a single post to it yet….too bad!

First of all let me say that I truly love NYC, but I also have to say that I fell in love with Chicago and Oak Park too (both for their beauty and for the love my husband and I have for Lucchesi family who welcomed us in a extraordinary way and let us have a fantastic time in their company).

New York City

Thanks to the help of a friend of mine, Mariaelena, we have reserved a room in a nice and very original B&B in the East Village on the 3rd Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. Planned well in advance I had all the time to look for yarn shops nearby and guess what? I immediately discovered that just around the corner, 1 block away there was Downtowm Yarn Shop! I waited for my last day in NYC for the knitting experience….you know how it is you save the best for last…we got up, had a delicious breakfast at The Bean, coffee and a pear and cinnamon muffin and headed first to Galeria J. Antonio (47 Ave A @ East 3rd street) where my husband bought me a super beautiful necklace for my birthday and then to Downtown Yarns to have a look inside, meet the owner and the shop’s affectionate knitters and of course buy some yarn. The shop is so cute and there is a great selection of handwoven and hand dyed yarn in the most beautiful colours and many creative hand knitted items on the walls and in the shop window. I couldn’t buy too many balls because we were traveling light and I finally choose Lamb’s Pride Worsted (85% Wool/15% Mohair) which is spun and dyed by Brown Sheep Company, Inc. in Nebraska…. I am looking forward to getting it on my needles.

Same day….30th June was entirely dedicated to knitting….in the afternoon I joined Nicky Epstein‘s Intarsia Workshop @ Knitty City. I was soooo exited! I had made reservations for the class from Italy 1 week before leaving and I had been waiting for that moment for my entire staying in NYC.

Nicky is fabulous, she is so nice and lovely and you immediately perceive her creativity, as soon as you see her…it is like an aura she has around her….you do not need to see her holding her needles to know that some a gorgeous garment will come out from them.

She welcomed me so warmly and knowing I came from Tuscany she was happy to share her memories of the great trip she had had in Tuscany where she took some inspiration for her amazing projects gathered in her just released book “Knitting in Tuscany”.

The workshop was incredibly interesting and inspiring. We learnt Intarsia, Fair Isle and Double Stitch techniques and had fun altogether trying to not get tangled in the many coloured end hanging from our works.

Pearl and Gal from Knitty City were very nice and helpful and guided me together with Nicky in the choice of the yarn to use for my Intarsia project! This is Mission Falls 1824 Wool 100% merino superwash.

Chicago

Chicago is an incredible city…it has got it all….amazing architectures, the oldest skyscraper ever built in the entire world built by very famous architects such as Sullivan and Frank Lyod Wright, the lake, parks and gardens along the lake, museums and blues clubs…..We really loved it and above all as I was saying above we loved spending time with the Danny and his family in Oak Park. Even in Oak Park I have planned my knitting time well in adevance. Searching on Ravelry I found the Oak Park S’n’B’ group and I got in contact with the ladies that meet on Mondays @ Buzz Cafè. We made arrangements and I should have joined them on the 6th July…..unfortunately I couldn’t make it to the Buzz Cafe as my visit to the Shedd Aquarium lasted more than I had imagined and I couldn’t come back in time for the knit cafe. I was so sorry and the girls were waiting for me with a bottle of wine to enjoy together…I still regret I did not have the chance to meet them but I am sure there will be other occasions to get in Oak Park in the future and I will finally meet them either there or in Italy.

It is great to be part of the fantastic community of Etsy and virtually meet creative people from all over the world Europe, USA, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

But as it always happens when you travel a lot…either physically or virtually…at a certain point you feel homesick. You experience a tiny pinch of nostalgia and think that it would be nice to speak with people from your own country to share memories and local cultural background, difficulties and doubts deriving from situation you experience in your everyday life ( in terms of crafts: local trends, popular materials, traditional techniques and also tips on how to run your on-line shop according to the country regulations)….and, last but not least, promote HandMade in Italy!

I knitted this hat while I was staying at my parents-in-law’s. They live in a town in Abruzzo whose name is Castel di Sangro (literal translation: Castel of the River Sangro) as it is located on the Sangro River, in a valley in the Apennine Mountains. You can now see only the ruins of the castle but it used to be important. It was located on the top of the hill on which the village was built (it must have been important…they named the town after it!).

The top part of the hat resembles the merlons of the castle and makes the hat a easy and comfortable wear even if you have a thick head of hair like mine!

Bright Orange Dotted Castle Hat and Neck Warmer are the perfect garments for a autumn or mild winter day. They are very warm but non bulky…. actually the yarn I have used is so soft and light that you will forget you are wearing it. The bottom edge is raw and wavy to frame you face in a cute and flattering way .

The body of the hat is in seed stitch with bottom and top part in stockinette. The neck warmer is all in garter stitch.On the hat it is attached a ribbon bow of the same color of the ribbons used for the Neck Warmer.

In a gloomy and rainy day the Bright Orange Hat and Neck Warmer will cheer you up!